Fig. 4

Lentinan ameliorated microglia activation triggered by Toxoplasma gondii infection in the hippocampus. a The immunofluorescent staining of Iba1 in CA1, CA3 and DG regions of the hippocampus (scale bar: 50 μm). The image captured from the box was marked with a dotted line (scale bar: 10 μm). b Quantification of Iba1⁺ microglia in the hippocampus (n = 3, 3 images per mouse). c-d Characterization of microglia morphology via cell solidity (c) and circularity (d) (n = 3, 10–12 cells per mouse). Resting microglia are highly ramified while activated microglia present an amoeboid shape, with no or small ramifications. Activated microglia are characterized by a higher circularity and solidity. Con: control group; ConL: Con + Lentinan group; Tg: chronic T. gondii-infected group; TgL: Tg + Lentinan group. Values are mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001